The seasonally adjusted number of new housing units authorised, excluding apartments, fell 8.9 percent in August 2010, to the lowest number for more than a year. This follows a fall of 6.0 percent the month before, Statistics New Zealand said today.
"Looking at the longer-term trend, the number of new homes consented, excluding apartments, has been falling since March this year," business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said. "This follows increases that began in April 2009, after the recent economic downturn."